A blog devoted to Reno's economic recovery

Karl Fendelander: "Renonaissance?" How Reno is growing from good roots

Playful designs are part of an impressive stone facade on what originally was a wood house in the new Wells Avenue Neighborhood Conservation District. The area contains some of the oldest homes in Reno south of the river. Photo taken Feb. 26, 2013 / RGJ

For the second time in the city’s history,

an area of Reno has been recognized for its rich history by being named a conservation area. According to KTVN, “The Wells Avenue area was chosen for the distinction because of its historical significance to the city. The district is marked by Holcomb Avenue to the west, Locust Street to the east, Ryland Avenue to the north and Vassar Street to the south.”

The area is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Reno, with many of the houses dating back years before motor vehicles were common–or even available. As you walk around the newly dubbed Wells Avenue Neighborhood Conservation Area, you see houses with vaulted ceilings, elaborate brick and rock work, and ornate windows. You see homes built just after the turn of 20th century mingling with others built in the roaring twenties (with the style to show it), some built with the gray brick from the 1940s that still looks brand new, and others from every other decade since. Every house is unique, particularly those that have had additions or been subdivided internally to create duplexes. Each of these old homes has a history, evinced by carpeted-over hardwood floors, vestigial chimneys for wood stoves and furnaces, and “creative” wiring and plumbing from added for modern conveniences like washing machines and electric hot water heaters. It’s from neighborhoods like this that Reno was born.

A Queen Anne Revival style cottage on Moran Street in the new Wells Avenue Neighborhood Conservation District. The area contains some of the oldest homes in Reno south of the river. Photo taken Feb. 26, 2013 / RGJ

The recent naming of this spot as a conservation area shows the support and love for the neighborhood that residents have–and they aren’t alone. Indeed, some of Reno’s hottest new spots are within a stone’s throw in the burgeoning MidTown district. This area is the epicenter of a sort of Reno renaissance (or Renonaissance, if you will), with new things sprouting up all the time, including an urban farm in the not-too-distant future and the Brasserie Saint James opening its doors just this past autumn.

We’re proud to be a part of the rejuvenation of this area. Projects like the infamous Cat Pee House (now pleasant-smelling and gorgeous) and a turn-of-the-century Victorian duplex (reclaimed from abandonment and squatters) are defining examples of our work in the Wells Avenue Neighborhood Conservation Area. There are many other Marmot properties in this and surrounding neighborhoods.

We have a commitment to this area. As Marmot Co-owner Eric (Raydon) put it, “We’re eating our own cooking by building up the neighborhoods we buy in.” Take a trip through the new Conservation Area, and you’ll see the ‘building up’ he’s talking about. Our Marmot burrows are some of the nicest looking, most well kept houses on any street, and conservation is the name of the game for us. We save all we can from these homes that haven’t necessarily had the same treatment over their many years.

We want to see this neighborhood keep improving and this area thrive, and with Reno’s tech future looking bright, that doesn’t look like it will be a problem. “Growth in this town is good for us,” says Eric. “We can add value through our social entrepreneurship.”

With eco-friendly additions and solid construction put into all of our renovation projects, Marmot properties are the greenest kind of urban infill and redevelopment, not to mention one of the most faithful to the classic architecture. The growth in the MidTown District, the naming of this conservation area–Reno is returning to its roots, roots than run deep and still have plenty of life left in them ready to bloom.

– Karl Fendelander lives in Reno and writes for the Marmot Companies, a Reno real estate firm with a focus on residential rehabilitation.

Video: Here's one of Reno's old-timers with a glimpse of what it was like to grow up in the Wells Avenue neighborhood.

The city should do everything it can to encourage revitalization and redevelopment of neighborhoods closer to the city core and discourage sprawl near the edges. Sprawl sucks the life out of a city and creates a ring of blight between the core and the edges.